Dr Sarah Bell
University College London (UK)
The driest continent and the greediest water company: drought in Sydney and London
Drought disrupts normal functioning of urban water systems and brings complex networks of relationships between catchments, infrastructure, institutions and private behaviour into public view. This paper analyses newspaper reporting of drought in Sydney and London. In Sydney drought discourse focuses on the need for urban water consumers to change their habits in line with living on the driest inhabited continent. In London drought discourse focuses on the failure of the private water company to manage infrastructure and protect urban consumers from rainfall variability. The analysis highlights the importance of institutional, ecological and cultural contexts in understanding water infrastructure provision and drought in cities.
Biography
Sarah Bell is a Lecturer in Environmental Engineering at UCL where she is also co-director of the UCL Environment Institute focussing on interdisciplinary water research. Her research interests centre on the relationships between technology and society as they relate to urban water systems. Her specific research interests include drought, water reuse, infrastructure provision in developing countries and the role of engineers in the water systems.
Email: s.bell@ucl.ac.uk